We first encountered Jhoan over a decade ago cupping in a SENA lab, however this is only our third year purchasing from Jhoan and his family’s farm Las Flores. We were (re)introduced to him through our long-term friends and partners the Lassos of the El Diviso farm- the Lassos and the Vergaras have shared processing knowledge, tips and tricks, and even share drying and processing infrastructure when both their farms find themselves at capacity.

JAVA
Java seeds are an Ethiopian landrace, though the name comes from its introduction to the island of Java by the Dutch in the 19th century. The variety is fairly resistant to coffee leaf rust and coffee borer disease, and requires fewer fertilizer inputs than other high-quality varieties (like gesha), which has contributed to its increasing popularity around Colombia.

PROCESSING
For this java lot, the cherries first undergo a submerged fermentation (in cold water) for 12 hours, and then the cherries are left to continue fermenting in an open air environment (oxidation) for another 24 hours.From there, the cherries are de-pulped, and then they undergo an additional 48 hours of anaerobic fermentation in a sealed vessel with a tube for off-gassing. The de-pulped coffee then undergoes an additional 36 hours of fermentation (oxidation) in an open tank. Finally, the washing is via a thermal shock- meaning that the coffee is washed with water heated to 50°C and then rapidly cooled using cold water for 30 minutes. Drying is performed in a dehumidifying machine for 36 hours.

Pricing transparency: We purchased parchment coffee directly from Jhoan, and pesos were transferred straight to his bank account upon receipt of parchment at our chosen mill. We purchased 950 kg of parchment coffee and paid 4,800,000 pesos per carga for it (a carga is 125 kg of parchment coffee).